Public meetings are planned to share the five alternative routes under consideration

The Commonwealth Transportation Board learned more about the five alternatives proposed for Route 460 at its Wednesday meeting.

Virginia Department of Transportation Environmental project manager Angel Deem told the board the agency will hold public information meetings in communities along the route over the next two weeks as crews complete environmental impact studies along the 55-mile route connecting Suffolk and Petersburg.

"We are currently finalizing all technical reports to support the supplemental environmental impact statements," she said, referring to studies required by both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Highway Administration before those agencies approve the project.

The project, a public-private partnership approved by then Gov. Bob McDonnell's administration, was halted by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in March after the state paid more than $200 million to the private contractor before getting needed permits. In December, Corps officials said those permits likely would not be granted because the proposed route traversed more than 500 acres of wetlands.

VDOT has been working with the Corps and the Highway Administration since to complete studies needed for the permits.

Deem said all five routes, including the trouble-plagued corridor, were under consideration and none was preferred at present.

Alternate 1 is the four-lane, limited-access tolled route originally planned for construction. It runs south of the current Route 460.

Alternate 2 is a four-lane road that would run along the existing route, with bypasses around towns. The bypasses may be subject to tolls.

Alternate 3 is similar to the first alternate, but would run north of the existing road. It, too, would be a limited-access toll road.

Deem said Alternate 4 is a new proposal. It runs along the current route, with improvements to the road as it runs through towns and no bypasses.

Route 5 is the most ambitious: an eight-lane route that would follow the existing road, providing four limited access lanes and four local-access lanes. The limited access lanes would be tolled, she said.

Deem said the preliminary environmental report should be ready for public hearings by October. VDOT hopes to identify the preferred route for the road by the end of the year, and submit the final environmental impact statement in 2015.

"We will know at the end of the year tentatively what alignment we will offer," said Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne. "That really will be the next step for this board."

"It's viable, but let's be realistic," Layne said. "The Corps did not believe it was the most viable … and that's why we are going through this."

Layne assured the board the state had not paid any more money to 460 Mobility, the private contractor on the project. VDOT and the federal agencies are handling all of the environmental studies work. "Right now the only monies being spent are through VDOT."